Real World Episode Tag
by GLE
Summary: My view on what should have happened after Elizabeth woke up at the end..... Sparky!


**The Real World episode tag.**

Spoilers up to this episode so early season 3.

Disclaimer – I don't own the characters unfortunately or the show... just using them for my own enjoyment!

Pairing – Sparky as always – I just cant help it!!

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"I'm back in Atlantis" she sighed, so relieved.

"You never left" replied her Scottish friend as she lay back on the bed.

As she turned her face away from her friends, taking in the familiarity of Atlantis she knew finally she was home. Explanations could wait. For now she was tired from fighting for so long. She smiled one last time before drifting off in a healing sleep.

The first thing she realised when she awoke was that it was quiet around. She hesitantly opened her eyes, almost afraid of where she might find herself. She looked round to see she had been moved from the quarantine room to the main infirmary, without most of the wires monitoring her condition and without the increased oxygen supply. She slowly sat up, still tired but determined not to stay in bed longer than necessary.

Strolling back into the main infirmary, Carson caught site of Elizabeth trying to sit up and made his way over to her. He was relieved to see her looking better and added to the fact that he had just released a healthy John Sheppard from quarantine he felt certain that everything would be back to normal soon enough.

"How you doing lass?" he asked as he reached her, taking her hold of her wrist gently to check her pulse.

"I'm fine Carson" came the instant response and a quick smile, though her eyes were clearly troubled.

"Aye, I'm sure you will be, not that you'd tell me otherwise" he smirked. His job since coming to Atlantis had been so much harder as all his patients seemed against telling him how they really felt. He thanked Sheppard for that.

"Carson…"

He turned back at the hesitant voice. "Yes Elizabeth?"

"How long was I umm…"

"Unconscious?" He filled in, "Just less than five hours"

Her head whipped round to face him, her eyes growing wide as she thought about his response.

"No, no it can't have been, I mean…"

Carson frowned, he didn't like the fact that his patient was getting worked up, but didn't really want to make her face what she had been through so early on. Tomorrow was early enough for that. He sat down carefully on the edge of the bed. "Elizabeth?"

She ignored him, though probably unintentionally as he could see her frowning as her mind tried to process this.

"Elizabeth" he stated more firmly, his hand resting gently on her arm to bring her out of her thoughts.

Having got her attention he hesitantly spoke "How long do you think it was?"

She frowned "Just over three months, I think, but there was the accident before that and I don't remember that."

"Accident?"

"Car crash" she looked down at her joined hands before whipping her head up as she remembered something new. "Where's John, was he right?"

"You heard him?

"He said something about nanites? Where is he?" she started getting worked up, realising that when she woke up they had all been there, all except for the one person she thought certainly be with her when she awoke.

"He's fine Elizabeth" Carson instantly saw her calm down, her worried look replaced with one of mild curiosity. "Your body was over-run by nanites, we managed to destroy most of them and then John helped you to beat the rest. Doing so he breached the quarantine which is why you haven't seen him, but he's fine. I'm sure he'll be here to check on you soon."

"So the last three months they, they… didn't happen?" she confirmed

"That's right, Elizabeth, yesterday you came back from the mission see the Asurans, remember?"

She nodded slowly, suddenly overwhelmed. All the emotions, all the feelings, the loneliness, the frustration, everything she thought she had gone through in what she had thought were the last three months. None of it ever happened. She brought her knees up to her stomach and laid her head on them, buried in her arms.

"'Lizabeth? You okay lass?" Carson raised his arm to soothingly rub her back, understanding that she might need some time to sort some stuff out in her head. He looked round when he heard footsteps to see John Sheppard at the entrance of the infirmary. Giving Elizabeth one last pat on the shoulder he left to talk to John.

Elizabeth felt like she was insane. She laughed internally thinking to herself that it was ironic how before everyone else thought she had had a mental breakdown and really she was fine and now it seemed as she was heading for the reverse. She thought of all the things she went through in the psychiatric hospital, all her emotions and all the times she had thought she had succeeded none of it was real and as she had sitting on that bench with her mother, she let it all out. The emotions that had been building for so long she released, too tired to keep them in, hidden any longer.

"How is she?" asked John quietly as Carson came over to him.

"Confused, tired, honestly I don't really know. She thinks that wherever she was when the nanites infested her body that she was there for three months."

John turned to Carson "Three months?!"

"Aye"

They both turned back to Elizabeth who was in the same position as before. Just before he turned back to ask Carson how long she would be kept in the infirmary, he noticed something. Still curled up with her head it looked like she was shaking ever so slightly. Then John heard something that sounded suspiciously like a sob. Exchanging a worried glance with Carson he went over to her, sitting on the bed where Carson was not so long ago.

He gently placed his hand on her elbow, speaking quietly to her to help her calm down. "Elizabeth? Can you hear me? Its John, you're safe now."

She stiffened at his touch before giving in and relaxing towards him. She felt his strong arms come round her, guiding her curled up body to his chest and then he just sat there, holding her, comforting her and gradually she became sure that she was safe again.

John had willingly taken her into his arms as she surrendered to her emotions, just holding her to let her know he was there. He made contact with Carson, who moved the dividers across, hiding them from the rest of the infirmary.

After she had calmed down and tried to recompose herself, Elizabeth slowly started sitting up and then lying back against the propped up head of the bed, feeling more drained than before. Opening her eyes she looked up at John who gave her a small smile.

"Hey, how you doing?"

"I'm okay" she said as she started shivering, realizing how cold it was without Johns body heat next to her. Both the men noticed though, they hadn't taken their eyes off her and now Carson moved in to speak to her.

"Are you cold Elizabeth?" he asked, gently feeling her forehead with him expert hand, before reaching for the thermometer on the side.

"Freezing!" she replied, unable to pretend she was ok anymore.

"Your temperature seems fine" started Carson as the instrument beeped, "I'll just get a warm blanket"

He returned a few minutes later to find John and Elizabeth in the same position, except for their joined hands by the side of Elizabeth's body. He smiled as John helped her move forward whilst he draped the blanket round her small body.

"Get some rest Elizabeth; you'll feel better when you wake up"

She smiled sleepily, the blanket made her feel like she was wrapped in a warm cocoon, strangely familiar to when she was in John's arms earlier. She looked over at him. "Stay? Please?"

He smiled. "I'm here Elizabeth and I'm not going anywhere. Rest."

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All feedback gratefully received... 


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